People enjoy cool weather while eating dinner on the rooftop patio at Rooftop Food & Drinks located at 112 NW Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in Downtown Evansville, Ind., Tuesday, July 24, 2018. The restaurant is open seven days a week, Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to Midnight and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS,

People enjoy cool weather while eating dinner on the rooftop patio at Rooftop Food & Drinks located at 112 NW Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in Downtown Evansville, Ind., Tuesday, July 24, 2018. The restaurant is open seven days a week, Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to Midnight and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS,

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

People enjoy cool weather while eating dinner on the rooftop patio at The Rooftop Food & Drinks located at 112 NW Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in Downtown Evansville, Indiana, on July 24, 2018. The restaurant is open seven days a week.(Photo: SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS, )Buy Photo

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Al Fresco dining is a great joy of summer, and one of the newest downtown patios in Evansville has been so packed with diners it is expanding to a second level.

The Rooftop Food and Drinks, as you might guess by the name, is particularly known for its breezy second-story rooftop patio, which seats 50 diners. The restaurant opened last December with a bar and cozy dining room full of big, comfortable booths, but everyone was waiting for the rooftop itself to open.

“Business kind of took off when spring got here,” said owner Richie Patel, who co-helms the business with his uncle Dray Patel. “Obviously, we were waiting for warm weather and I think some people were holding off coming until the rooftop patio was open. When that happened, luckily, we had had time to get everything in line, service and food, so we were ready.”

Patel noticed that during the busiest hours, people would sometimes elect to go elsewhere to eat if the patio was full. So, he is expanding outdoor seating to the ground-level patio area, where he can accommodate another 50-60 diners.

The Rooftop’s lunch and dinner menu has grown a bit alongside the outdoor seating opportunities.

Appetizers are very popular, as patrons gather to enjoy live music, drinks, outdoor breezes and a little after work snack.

Buy Photo

A featured starter item at The Rooftop Food & Drinks is the loaded fries which are topped with bacon, chives, ranch and Queso.(Photo: SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS, )

Creative pizzas may be enjoyed with Indian chicken tikka; chicken, bacon and ranch; Reuben toppings; with chicken and queso or buffalo chicken. The small size has four weighty slices and is just right for sharing as a starter.

Potato chips are house fried, and the queso is homemade with creamy milk, cheese, and diced jalapenos.

You’ll find hand-breaded and fried veggie apps, loaded French fries, and wild Daytona-style wings, which are fried without thick breading, tossed in buffalo sauce, then finished in the broiler for extra flavor and less drippy mess.

Buy Photo

Wings at The Rooftop Food & Drinks are Daytona-style, meaning that after they are fried and tossed in sauce, they're quickly broiled for a dryer surface and less messy eating experience.(Photo: Aimee Blume / Courier & Press)

Patel’s family is of Indian origin, and he wanted from the beginning to offer a few favorite Indian recipes at The Rooftop, but he wasn’t sure how they would go over in the casual bar and café atmosphere. He put homemade samosas on the appetizer section and ran an occasional daily special of butter chicken masala to see what would happen.

In no time, the samosas were the most popular appetizer, and the butter chicken was greeted with such enthusiasm that there is now a small permanent Indian section on the menu featuring butter chicken (chicken in a mildly-spiced tomato and cream sauce), chole masala (chick peas in a smooth spiced curry-type sauce), and paneer butter masala (chunks of homemade fresh-pressed cheese in a creamy curry-type sauce), giving diners two new exotic vegetarian choices.

“I’m very picky about my butter chicken,” said Patel. “That’s a staple Indian dish. Ours is exactly how it’s supposed to be, with a tomato-based sauce, Indian spices and heavy cream.

"We put it on a chicken tikka pizza too. The crust is topped with the sauce, a little bit of rice, shredded chicken and mozzarella cheese."

Buy Photo

The Bina's Buffalo Chicken Sandwich at The Rooftop Food & Drinks features fried chicken covered in a house-made Buffalo sauce dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion and a side of fries.(Photo: SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS, )

The lunchtime menu is sandwich-centered, and you’ll find all your favorites. Bina’s Buffalo Chicken is a whole chicken breast, hand-breaded, fried, and tossed with buffalo sauce before being served on a bun with vegetable dressings. You may choose this one in a wrap as well, with jalapeno cheese spread under the name The Chicken that Crossed the Border.

Calorie-conscious eaters will appreciate the Skinny Chix, which is a simple grilled chicken breast sandwich dressed with veggies. The pork tenderloin is grilled, but has a bit of flour rubbed over the surface for extra texture and flavor before cooking.

You’ll also find a gyro, a Philly steak, a chicken bacon ranch hoagie, a reuben, burger and even an Indian-inspired vegetarian paneer burger made with pressed cheese.

Buy Photo

This is an order of The Rooftop Food & Drinks' loaded fries but made with the fresh, fried potato chips instead of french fries.(Photo: Aimee Blume / Courier & Press)

Entrees have been added to the menu for those who would like a formal meal. Diners may choose a salmon steak, ribeye, house-made lasagna and more.

Although the Rooftop no longer serves breakfast every day, brunch is offered on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Singer and guitarist Lindsey Williams performs on the outdoor patio every Wednesday after 6 p.m., making it a great place to enjoy the Rooftop’s Wine Wednesday $3.99 per glass special. Saturday and Saturday nights are also live music nights beginning after 7 p.m., with a musician on the upstairs patio, and eventually on the lower level as well when it is completed.

Buy Photo

You won't leave hungry if you order a stromboli at The Rooftop Food & Drinks. It is served with the house crinkle-cut fries.(Photo: Aimee Blume / Courier & Press)

If you go

The Rooftop Food and Drinks is located at 112 NW Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Phone: 812-550-1599